Concepts and Challenges in Science Book 1/5th Grade Science Teacher's Manual

• Paperback – 92 pages 
• by Berquist, Laura & Berquist, Michaela 
• Mother of Divine Grace School – 2010 

These texts are principle based, giving an excellent presentation of the concepts introduced. They combine foundational, and important, information with a format that encourages independent work. The questions in blue after each paragraph are all questions about the main point of the previous paragraph. Answering these questions consistently helps the student learn what a topic sentence is, and how to recognize it. The text accomplishes many goals and yet a lesson is able to be completed in 20 minutes.   

We use Concepts and Challenges in Science 1 (A) which has excellent presentations and fits well with the aim of our program. This text concentrates on basic formation, not on the accumulation of complex data. Each lesson is a two page spread that introduces the student to a science concept. At the end of each paragraph throughout the lesson are 'Questions in Blue' which help the student to focus his attention on the concept being presented. There are also additional questions at the end of each lesson that enable the student to test his mastery of the concept. These lessons provide excellent practice in the study of dialectic. The Teacher's Manual contains complete daily lesson plans, tests, answer keys to the tests, and answer keys to the questions in the text for Concepts and Challenges in Science 1 (A).

MODG strongly recommends that families purchase our 5th Grade Science, 7th Grade Science or 8th Grade Science (a series), or that they purchase the Earth, Life, and Physical books, and not a combination from the two sets as the two sets basically carry the same information, but arranged differently.  The texts for the Earth, Life, and Physical books can be purchased from used books suppliers. MODG does not recommend 3rd or 4th edition Concepts and Challenges materials.